The Brexit thread

[82_28]

I know it seems totally unconnected but as I brought up in the first page of this thread, the NFL is looking to expand to London. National Football League. I have no fucking idea what's going on with just about anything any more. If London gets a football team it would mean Britain has joined the US. Yes, yes. Sounds stupid as hell, but the NFL is huge, the Olympics are already tanking without having taken place yet.

***Again, American football refers to the length of the ball and not that it is played with the foot, though it is in some cases -- field goals and punts it is indeed played with the foot*** Though you can always devise a fake play when one is going to use the foot. But whatever. I just thought it to be the canary in the coal mine or harbinger of Britain seeking to join up with the US and shit. Again, I got no idea.

Everything everywhere is in turmoil. There is an underlying reason.

A friend of mine from Australia insists that we, meaning the U.S. Australia and Canada, are still under the English crown, in spite of that "independence" thing back in the day. Something about the London Corporation. We are all "POMS" (Products of Mother England). I did some googling and it could be legit. Or not.

I agree with that. The US, the UK, Australia, NZ and Canada (to a degree) all share the same language. Other than that, I think that's about it. I guess you could insert Israel into there. But it is the standard language of Earth. Super strange.

[Searcher08]

I know it seems totally unconnected but as I brought up in the first page of this thread, the NFL is looking to expand to London. National Football League. I have no fucking idea what's going on with just about anything any more. If London gets a football team it would mean Britain has joined the US. Yes, yes. Sounds stupid as hell, but the NFL is huge, the Olympics are already tanking without having taken place yet.

***Again, American football refers to the length of the ball and not that it is played with the foot, though it is in some cases -- field goals and punts it is indeed played with the foot*** Though you can always devise a fake play when one is going to use the foot. But whatever. I just thought it to be the canary in the coal mine or harbinger of Britain seeking to join up with the US and shit. Again, I got no idea.

Everything everywhere is in turmoil. There is an underlying reason.

A friend of mine from Australia insists that we, meaning the U.S. Australia and Canada, are still under the English crown, in spite of that "independence" thing back in the day. Something about the London Corporation. We are all "POMS" (Products of Mother England). I did some googling and it could be legit. Or not.

I agree with that. The US, the UK, Australia, NZ and Canada (to a degree) all share the same language. Other than that, I think that's about it. I guess you could insert Israel into there. But it is the standard language of Earth. Super strange.

Most Widely Spoken Languages in the World
Language Approx. number of speakers
1. Chinese 1,197,000,000
2. Spanish 414,000,000
3. English 335,000,000
4. Hindi 260,000,000

[82_28]

I don't understand thing one about Chinese. I just order #27 off the menu. So to speak. I've always been baffled by "English Language Teachers Wanted" classifieds. Don't gotta know no Chinese/Mandarin etc. I can speak a touch of Spanish and can understand a bit but there is no way I would ever be able in my lifetime understand any Asian language or script. I know a little Kanji. But it's basically 3 words.

Enter the emoji. Fuck what has this planet come to?

[JackRiddler]

Most Widely Spoken Languages in the World[/b]
Language Approx. number of speakers
1. Chinese 1,197,000,000
2. Spanish 414,000,000
3. English 335,000,000
4. Hindi 260,000,000

Totally misleading. Obviously means native speakers and does not include second languages. Bet that 335 million people in China and another 335 million in India speak English (well or otherwise). In fact, that's a common plausible factoid people throw around, that more people speak English in China than in the U.S. Must be another couple of hundred million in the rest of the "commonwealth" and going on 200 million on the European continent (adequacy at 80% for under 50 in many European countries, all German schools teach it from elementary, etc.). Just the U.S. official population is 320 million, by the way, and 90%+ of'em also speak English. After a fashion. So I wonder if this even rates as correct for first language. Also, what's Chinese, Mandarin or Cantonese (which are supposed to differ more than Spanish and Italian)? Is this an old table? China population is currently 1.35 billion and 95% are Han Chinese. India is 1.25 billion and of course Hindi is the dominant language of the north, while the south has hundreds of languages with English as the lingua franca.

Etc. etc. etc.

The languages of China are the languages that are spoken by China's 56 recognized ethnic groups. The predominant language in China, which is divided into seven major dialect groups, is known as Hanyu (simplified Chinese: 汉语; traditional Chinese: 漢語; pinyin: Hànyǔ). and its study is considered a distinct academic discipline in China.[4] Hanyu, or Han language, spans eight primary dialect groups, that differ from each other morphologically and phonetically to such a degree that dialects from different regions can often be mutually unintelligible. The languages most studied and supported by the state include Chinese, Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur and Zhuang. China has 297 living languages according to Ethnologue.[5]

Standard Chinese (known in China as Putonghua), a form of Mandarin Chinese, is the official national spoken language for the mainland and serves as a lingua franca within the Mandarin-speaking regions (and, to a lesser extent, across the other regions of mainland China). Several other autonomous regions have additional official languages. For example, Tibetan has official status within the Tibet Autonomous Region, and Mongolian has official status within Inner Mongolia. Language laws of China do not apply to either Hong Kong or Macau, which hence have different official languages (Cantonese, English and Portuguese) than the mainland.

[Wombaticus Rex]

English is the language of global pop culture entertainment; Hollywood is America's greatest strategic asset.

[Novem5er]

Most Widely Spoken Languages in the World
Language Approx. number of speakers
1. Chinese 1,197,000,000
2. Spanish 414,000,000
3. English 335,000,000
4. Hindi 260,000,000

Those numbers might represent people's first-languages, or native born, but I guarantee more than 335 million people speak English. The US population alone is nearly 320 million. The UK has more than 60 million people. Australia more than 20 million. Canada, 35 million.

But as a secondary language, I think English is widely spread. Many Europeans speak English and it is taught in their schools. Indians and many Asian countries, too. China is always recruiting English teachers for the same reason. English is probably the most widely used "business" language. I'm not saying this out of any sort of pride or nationalism. It's mostly a bi-product of old colonialism and the fact that the US emerged last century as an economic powerhouse (combined with out unwillingness to learn other languages as an Anglican society).

[JackRiddler]

Study of foreign languages[edit]
It is also considered increasingly prestigious and useful to have some ability in English, which is a required subject for persons attending university. During the 1950s and 1960s, Russian had some social status among elites in mainland China as the international language of socialism. Japanese is the second most-studied foreign language in China.

In the late 1960s, English replaced the position of Russian to become the most important foreign language in China.[citation needed]After the Reform and Opening-up policy in 1988,English is taught in the public schools starting in the third year of primary school,[2][3] languages other than English are now considered to be "minor languages" (小语种 ; Traditional Chinese:小語種 xiǎo yǔzhǒng) and are only really studied at the university level apart from some special schools which are called Foreign Language Schools in some well-developed cities. Japanese and Korean are not considered as "minor languages" by most of the Chinese people. Russian, French, and German are widely taught in Universities and colleges nowadays.

In Northeast China, there are many bilingual schools (Mandarin-Japanese; Mandarin-Korean; Mandarin-Russian), in these schools, students learn other languages other than English.

The Economist, issue April 12, 2006, reported that up to one fifth of the population is learning English. Gordon Brown, the former British Prime Minister, estimated that the total English-speaking population in China will outnumber the native speakers in the rest of the world in two decades.[9]
Literary Arabic is studied by Hui students.[10]

Literary Arabic education was promoted in Islamic schools by the Kuomintang when it ruled mainland China.[11]

Portuguese is taught in Macau as one of the official languages there and as a center of learning of the language in the region, although use has declined drastically since its transfer from Portugal to the PRC.

English is the language of global pop culture entertainment; Hollywood is America's greatest strategic asset.

You're always hitting me with the most original observations on this board, WR, so now I expect you to make up for this with at least three genuine insights in the next 24 hours.

[stefano]

If London gets a football team it would mean Britain has joined the US. Yes, yes.

No, no. What the fuck are you on about? Joined the US, if they get an American football team?

Also, I would be astonished if American football took off in England in any way. If they want something less watchable than rugby or league football they have lawn bowls and croquet.

***Again, American football refers to the length of the ball and not that it is played with the foot

No it doesn't.

[stefano]

A friend of mine from Australia insists that we, meaning the U.S. Australia and Canada, are still under the English crown, in spite of that "independence" thing back in the day. Something about the London Corporation. We are all "POMS" (Products of Mother England). I did some googling and it could be legit. Or not.

It's not legit. Australia might become a republic when the current Queenie dies; there's a smaller but still notable republican movement in NZ.

[stillrobertpaulsen]

Anyone besides me wondering if the timing of Trump's trip to Scotland was more than coincidental?

[stefano]

Anyone besides me wondering if the timing of Trump's trip to Scotland was more than coincidental?

I'm sure it wasn't! He got to comment on the result early in the morning, for starters. And, actually, for enders. I deduce from the below he'd wanted meetings with the Leave leaders but they declined.

Ewen MacAskill Verified account
‏@ewenmacaskill

I asked Trump why no senior UK politicians would meet him and suggested it is because he is toxic? He said I was "a nasty, nasty guy".

[Nordic]

English is the language of global pop culture entertainment; Hollywood is America's greatest strategic asset.

After just spending three weeks in Itsly working eoth some locals I have to agree.

Among the few who could speak some English, it was common for them to admit they had learned their English through American pop songs and rock and roll. Middle aged professional drivers were listening to Rihanna songs. It was weird that way.

[stillrobertpaulsen]

Anyone besides me wondering if the timing of Trump's trip to Scotland was more than coincidental?

I'm sure it wasn't! He got to comment on the result early in the morning, for starters. And, actually, for enders. I deduce from the below he'd wanted meetings with the Leave leaders but they declined.

Ewen MacAskill Verified account
‏@ewenmacaskill

I asked Trump why no senior UK politicians would meet him and suggested it is because he is toxic? He said I was "a nasty, nasty guy".

I think Trump is the geiger counter through which the overworld attempts to measure the density of the river of shit heading their way.

[coffin_dodger]

Boris Johnson led the campaign to leave the EU from the start. He has mocked his adversaries relentlessly, made false promises in his quest for glory and is the main reason we left the EU.

This spoilt little brat of a man, head boy at whichever fucking school he went to - I can't be arsed to check - in charge of beastings and maintaining the heirarchical privileges amongst his fellow Bullingdon Club Boys, has never forgiven Cameron (his junior) for beating him to the job of Prime MInister. He is a nasty, privileged bully who is used to getting his own way.

He should be grinning from ear to ear at his victory. But he isn't.

This morning he was booed as he arrived at a venue in London.

This speech (at link), given at a press conference this morning, hardly looks like a man who has just won a great victory for democracy and himself, does it?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36616385

He is shitting his pants. Backtracking at every opportunity. And this is the man widely touted to lead our country. Happy Days.

[backtoiam]

stillrobertpaulsen said:

I think Trump is the geiger counter through which the overworld attempts to measure the density of the river of shit heading their way.

I tried to think of a way to say that one day but decided it would take too much typing. You did it succinctly in one sentence.